Police try to fill in blanks on manhunt / Soltys eluded them by camping at creek

Mark Martin, Chronicle Staff Writer

Published 4:00 am, Saturday, September 1, 2001

2001-09-01 04:00:00 PDT Sacramento -- The Ukrainian immigrant who until Thursday eluded a nationwide manhunt for 10 days had been camping out along a creek near his mother's suburban Sacramento home, authorities said yesterday.

Nikolay Soltys, who reportedly has confessed to killing his wife, young son and four other relatives, was arrested in his mother's backyard after his brother called police. Soltys had gone there looking for help, not to kill more relatives, said Sacramento County Sheriff's Sgt. James Lewis.

"We know he was very dependent on his mom," Lewis said. "We think he was trying to reach out to her."

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A barefoot and dirty Soltys was taken into custody Thursday morning when relatives staying at his mother's house spotted him hiding in the backyard and fled the home. After his brother called 911, Soltys was arrested without incident.

Investigators now believe Soltys, who had a sleeping bag and backpack with him, spent a few days before his capture in a wooded area along Arcade Creek, Lewis said. The creek runs near his mother's Citrus Heights residence.

Authorities are still working to determine whether Soltys had help during his 10-day disappearance. He had shaved within the last few days, Lewis noted.

"We're not convinced he's been staying outdoors for the last 10 days," Lewis said. "Either someone helped him or he had access to a home."

Soltys has reportedly told detectives he killed his wife, son and four other relatives because they were poisoning him. But Lewis said yesterday that Soltys might have been speaking metaphorically.

"There is a metaphor in his language about poisoning a reputation," he said.

Neighbors of the slain relatives have said Soltys was upset that his wife had told family members that he was abusing her, and that they had urged her to get help or leave him.

The 27-year-old unemployed cobbler was locked in a solitary cell in the maximum security wing of the Sacramento County Jail. He is allowed out of the cell for one hour a day, jailers said, but will eat his meals behind bars and will not come into contact with other inmates.

Soltys will face his first day in court on Tuesday, when he is arraigned in Sacramento County Superior Court.